Air conditioned seats are known from the automotive industry and aircraft construction. A customary arrangement consists of a seat provided with at least one device for the supply of air whose seat and backrest surfaces are each provided with air outlets or with an air-permeable fabric structure. The air supply device typically includes an axial flow fan arranged in the seat surface and one in the backrest surface, each of which draws in air from the environment and directs it through air ducts in the seat to the surfaces facing a person sitting in the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,024 describes a ventilated seat that is equipped with a fan device beneath a seat surface and one in a backrest surface. Each of the fan devices draws air out of the seat through openings in the seat and backrest surfaces and discharges it to the environment. Both fan devices are designed as axial flow fans or as axial/radial flow fans.
A ventilation device for an air-conditioned seat is additionally known from DE 101 16 45 A1. In that case, an axial flow fan is provided on an underside of a seat surface that draws air from the environment and conveys it through channels in the seat cushion to air outlets of a seat surface.
The axial flow fan, in particular, that is located in the seat surface, generally projects downward from the underside of the seat and thus into a footwell of a rear seat passenger sitting behind the air conditioned seat. This axial flow fan must be provided with an additional cover to protect it from damage. Thus, there exists a need for an improved fan arrangement within a vehicle seat to make available an air supply device for an air conditioned seat, or an air conditioning apparatus for a ventilated seat, that is robust and reliably protected all around, and avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.